Successful social media marketing is the same as successful content marketing: it provides value. Unfortunately, this is something that a vast number of businesses have no idea how to do, and that results in some companies not utilizing their social media. 

Look at the social media pages of local B2B companies. You will find that they tend to post bland and colorless content. 

Examples of this are:

"Find out why our Company is the best in the area!"

Or

"Order our Product today to start serving your customers better!"

Posts similar to these are self-promotion and not even exciting self-promotion. Questions to ask yourself while thinking about more content ideas: Why would anyone be interested in following your page? What are they gaining by engaging with your posts? When looking at your social media or content, the most crucial question is: Would you stop scrolling to read it? If not, then you need to make your post more exciting!

That means that your social media content needs to give viewers a purpose. It should be compelling, it should be entertaining, it should be helpful, and it should be inspiring. Inspiring social media can work exceptionally well. Look at Instagram, and you'll find a ton of accounts that are inspiring to their viewers. They are wearing stunning clothes, posing to show off their rippling muscles, or even showing off their lifestyles.

Then there are also the travel accounts with lots of pictures of beautiful mountain ranges and sunsets. Why do these work? Well, because people see those channels and feel inspired, they live vicariously through them. They enjoy daydreaming about having experiences like that! They know that following that account will show similar inspiring posts to them. And they can continue to let their imagination run wild. And then, when you promote a product or an ebook on a topic, they will listen and trust your opinion on the product.

Examples of popular Facebook pages are like 'IFL Science,' which posts links to articles with some eye-catching titles and gets many likes and shares. The best Twitter accounts are run by personal brands and let fans feel like they are getting to know them by knowing what their daily routines are, jokes, or tips on fitness, beauty, etc.

Want to get attention on Pinterest? Then create a board to show life hacks. Or put together your go-to outfits for each occasion? Or workout routines? The goal, again, is to provide real value for your viewers. If you're doing this well, you need to ask yourself: Would people be disappointed if you stopped posting to your account?

Your social media needs to stand on its own and be something that people enjoy. That's how you gain followers and overall engagement, and that's how you get people to visit your site and buy your products.

Once again, the key is to post routinely and to be consistent with your topic. 

Don't create a blog on fitness but invariably post on social media about your love for gardening, or people will get tired. How often should you post? Ideally, the more you post, the better. A few times a day is usually recommended since social media sites like Facebook will show each post to a small number of your followers and friends.

More Tips for Social Media Marketing

Providing Value in a Dull Niche:

How can you provide entertaining and engaging value when you run a business about life insurance? What could you do on Instagram or on Pinterest that would be appropriate for your business? 

Don't think about the service directly but rather about the value proposition and audience. You should aim to post things that will be interesting to the same demographic which will be relevant. You don't have to post about life insurance directly! 

An example of this would be to make an Instagram account about things to do to spend time with your family. This example has an extensive appeal, but it is also relevant to life insurance since life insurance is all about looking out for your family once you're gone. 

People who relate to your content can follow your Instagram page, which will be in the same spirit as your business. Once you have their attention, you can recommend life insurance policies. 

You could do something similar with Pinterest. How about a board about ways to save money as a family? You could show money-saving hacks, budgeting tips, etc. Use that to promote your life insurance as a great financial option or your website as a great place to learn about life insurance plans. 

Targeting an Audience and What Questions You Need to Think About:

Another crucial tip is to think about your audience, who they are, and what they do. Suppose you want people to share your posts (this is the best way to ensure that they reach the maximum number of people). In that case, you need to be sure you are targeting your audience. Targeting is essential, as reaching too broad of an audience will ultimately mean that you don't specifically appeal to anyone. 

Targeting is the mistake that many people make with their posts on 'How to Get Abs.' They think that they have to appeal to everyone, so they end up with safe and generic content. Content performs best when it targets a particular type of person. Targeting relates to the psychology of sharing. Why do we share content? There are two reasons: to express the things we believe in OR to communicate with your followers.

We communicate by sharing things that appeal to us, or we think of someone we know and believe it would appeal to them. An example is: if you see a post on 'Working From Home Turns Your Brain to Mush,' then you're going to share that with your friend who works from home as a joke, as a way to give advice, or just as a way to show you're thinking of them.

If you work from home, you might post to express how you feel about working from home, helping others understand you better. But notice that the post only works in both scenarios because it applies specifically to people working from home.

While being very specific appears to exclude potential customers. It is much easier for you to market to the particular type of person that is likely to buy your product or service. To make this work, you have to spend some time profiling what they are like and their interests. What age are they, What gender are they, What are their hobbies, What websites do they spend time on, and What do they do for a living? You will see why this is so important soon!

Make a Strong Brand for Social Media:

Once you have decided how you will provide value to your viewers by posting and sharing content, ensure that you have a strong brand with good visibility. That will connect your social media channels neatly to your website. When someone sees a post from you, they must know it's from that same website they saw the other day.

Ensure you have an excellent logo and use it as your profile picture or cover image on your accounts. Use the same name wherever you can. Another tip is to combine your social media and your website. It could take a while to build up traffic on your social media. Add buttons for social media on your website so that people can click them and check out your social media right there.

Ideally, you will gain followers every time someone goes to your website. That way, they will be more likely to see your posts and share them, bringing in yet more visitors who could become followers!

Also, it is essential to ask people to follow you on social media. Asking for people to follow you is particularly useful in videos. So if you have a YouTube channel, don't be shy to ask the people watching to follow you on Twitter, and be sure to give them some good reasons to do so!

Another way to ask for followers is at the end of a blog post; why not ask your readers to share posts with their friends using the sharing buttons? It's also a good idea to combine your various posts to save time and ensure that each channel as much content as possible. For example, you can have it automatically share each new YouTube video on Twitter or Facebook.

Interact with Accounts:

Don't forget that social media is still a communication tool. A tip to ensure that people engage with your content is to message them and follow people and interact with their posts.

If you use Instagram, you will likely be familiar with how satisfying it can be to see someone has followed you, especially if they look like a professional brand or some influential! Likewise, it's great when they comment and say 'nice pic!'. Commenting will then motivate you to check out their channel and, in many cases, to follow it! So spend some time posting and, of course, be sure to respond to people.

Running contests and surveying your audience can also be an excellent way to increase engagement and to get a better idea of what your followers want to see from you! A perfect example of a contest is to award a follower with a gift if you get 'over X number of likes.' Contests and giveaways can help you build more shares and likes and be a great way to thank your fans! For more information about our digital marketing services, call +1720-764-9108, write to jprince@acreativsolution.com or send us a message online.